Major Mark Anthony Cooper was ordered to set up defenses, erect a blockhouse and picketing, establish a post of observation and hold his position until relieved. The fortification was built on the west bluff of Lake Holathlikaha. Such relief was not forthcoming until April 18th. In the interim, under constant daily Indian attack, alternate Companies “sallied forth” outside the picket “to detect and dispel Osceola and his warriors” who were attempting to get the battalion to fire its cannon and thereby expend its powder supply. Major Cooper’s command held its position of defense and attack under heavy fire from the Indians during what turned out to be the longest single, continual battle of General Scott’s Second Seminole War Campaign. Due to Major Cooper’s vigilant leadership during the two-week siege, the Georgia Battalion sustained about 20 men wounded with but one man lost.
The square palisade fort which included two redoubts and a two-story blockhouse with a 6-pounder cannon mounted in it was utilized as an observation and dispatch site, a horse depot, a scouting post, and a watering hole. When the war ended, the fort was abandoned. It was later used by the Confederate soldiers during the Civil War until it was captured by Union forces in February 1864.
